The eyes have it

It was an old hymn on my mind when I awakened this morning -- Open My Eyes That I May See. I remember singing it as a child in church. Curious about the author, it turns out to be a woman named Clara Scott, who wrote a number of hymns but this is the one that has had lasting popularity. She is also known as the first woman, and maybe only woman, to publish an anthology of hymns, around 1895, about the same time this hymn was written.

Remember Madame Guyon and her second way of approaching prayer -- Beholding the Lord or Waiting in His Presence ? -- I said that I hadn't been able to proceed with that pattern because I had so much trouble sitting quietly? Well, maybe the Lord gave me this hymn this morning to help, encourage, and challenge me.

Open my eyes that I may see
Glimpses of truth Thou hast for me
Place in my hands the wonderful key
That shall unclasp and set me free.
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready my God Thy will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me
Spirit Divine!

What first comes to mind, for me, is, of course, an historical event: when the archaeologist (Egyptologist), Howard Carter, discovered King Tut's ancient tomb, with its incredibly wealthy collection of gold artifacts. When he at least found the narrow stairway leading down to the burial chamber, he called over to the man who was sponsoring the expedition, Lord Carnarvon, to come down so he could be present when the chamber door was actually opened. The workmen began to push back the final debris to reveal the opening. Lord Carnarvon asked urgently, "Do you see anything" and Carter answered triumphantly, "Yes, wonderful things!"


I remember that sometimes when I read the Scripture -- YES, wonderful things are here!

Clara was probably thinking, not about King Tut, since that discovery was not until 1922 and she died in 1897, but Psalm 119:18. "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law."

This verse is in the 3rd stanza of Psalm 119, the longest psalm in the Bible, and the longest chapter, with 176 verses. All are about God's Word and how it enables us to live victorious lives and bring honor and joy to God.

The ancient poet who wrote this Psalm uses various words in this stanza to describe God's Word: "law," "commands," "laws," "statutes," "decrees,"
"word," and finally "counselors." What a comforting thought: "Your statutes are my delight; they are my counselors."

A counselor, when they us well, can direct us and advise us.
Our Counselor knows us thoroughly, inside and out. He knows what we need and is eager to give us good gifts, far more than Howard Carter was able to bring out of King Tut's tomb.

Psalm 119 is an acrostic poem, with the verses of each stanza begining with the same letter of the Hebrew alphabet (22 letters). Each verse of this 3rd stanza begins with Gimel, the 3rd letter of the Hebrew alphabet.

King Tut's tomb contained the most lavish and beautiful artifacts ever found. They are, at various times, paraded to musuems all over the world for public admiration and astonishment.

But none of them compares to what we find in God's Word.

The word "open" used here is the same word that appears in the account of Balaam when the Lord opened his eyes to see the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn (Numbers 22:31).

It is not talking about physically opening the eyes. It refers to removing a veil, or covering. A miraculous revealing of something God wants us to see. Like when Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus. "Their eyes were opened and they recognized Him" (Luke 24).

It doesn't mean the Word itself is veiled or unclear. It means our eyes of understanding are clouded with our earthly experiences and preconceived notions.
Our eyes are not focused on the revelation before us. We are distracted and we are truly suffering from 'attention deficiency.'

It takes the Holy Spirit's power to settle us down, focus our eyes and minds, and lead us to dig, really dig deep, like Howard Carter did at that ancient burial site, to uncover the wealth of joyful truths God has for us in His Word.

Open my ears that I may hear
Voices of truth Thou sendest clear
And while the wavenotes fall on my ear
Everything false will disappear.
Silently now I wait for Thee
Ready, my God, Thou will to see
Open my eyes, illumine me,
Spirit Divine!

And, finally,

Open my mouth and let me bear
Gladly the warm truth everywhere
Open my heart, and let me prepare
Love for Thy children everywhere.....

Jewels

Yes, He'll Come Back for Us!

The last few mornings the song that has awakened me is an old one -- one I haven't heard in years -- When He Cometh.

I looked for it in our church hymnal, but it was not included in that collection. But I did find it in another hymnal, and so re-read all the words:

When He cometh, when He cometh
To make up His jewels, all His jewels,
Precious jewels, His loved and His own.

CHORUS: Like the stars of the morning
His bright crown adorning
They shall shine in their beauty
Bright gems for His crown.

He will gather, He will gather
The gems for His kingdom
All the pure ones, all the bright ones
His loved and His own.

Little children, little children
Who love their Redeemer
Are the jewels, precious jewels,
His loved and His own.

God was so good to remind me of those words from my childhood. We ARE His jewels - His precious jewels. His loved and His own....Probably the writer of these words was thinking about Malachi 3:16-17:

Then they that feared the LORD spoke often to one another; and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD and thought upon His name.

And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serverth him

Here is how the Amplified Bible states it:

And they shall be Mine, says the Lord of hosts, in that day when I publicly
recognize and openly declare them to be My jewels (My special possession, My
peculiar treasure). And I will spare them, as a man spares his own son who serves him.

Remember the parable of the man who found the treasure in the field? How he hid it and then returned to buy the whole field? Usually we think of the field as being the world and we are looking in the field and come across the treasure. We give up all we have to buy the field and possess that treasure!

But wonder if the field is the world, but the One looking in the field is God Himself, searching for His treasure. And when He finds it He gives up all His has to possess that treasure -- which is us! And the everything He had to give up was His beloved Son --

It works that way, too!

I looked at the early morning sky today. We don't have as many early morning stars here as we do in the evenings. But in the beginning glow of the pre-dawn sunrise, that one star that was shining was very bright!


Venus is our "morning star" here on earth. In the heavenly kingdom, Jesus Himself is the Bright and Morning Star!

I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright and Morning Star. Revelation 22:16

I wonder about that book of remembrance mentioned in Malachi. Is that the "scroll written on both sides" mentioned in Revelation 5? The scroll no one could open and poor John wept, overcome with grief that no one could be found worthy to open the scroll.....and...

Then one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals. Revelation 5:5

What we lose when we lose words

Here's a practical word we don't use anymore: fetch.

It means "to go and get and bring back" - that's what we mean when we ask our dog if she wants to play "Fetch."

We want her to chase the stick (or ball) and bring it back so she can chase it again!

It took us a while to get our dog to understand.

We would throw the ball and she would chase it, grab it, and then run the other direction. So we would have to chase her and retrieve the ball so we could throw it for her again.

We kept explaining the "rules" of fetch.

She seemed reluctant to play our way. And then we realized she probably just didn't want to play "fetch." She wanted to play "chase" -- as in "please chase me."

I remember mother asking me to "fetch" her an item from her sewing box or her Bible from the dining room table.

"Fetch" is a good word. There is no one-word synonym for it in the English language. We have to use a whole sentence to express the same thought - like go and get and bring to me.

What a waste! All those words to express what one word would express!

I don't know when fetch began disappearing from our language, but it is a great loss.

Another loss is the word "succour." It literally means "to run to the cry of a child," and was used to refer to "bringing help when it is needed."

The word is not used much any more, but I can remember reading it in the King James Bible -

     For in that He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He
       is able to succour them that are tempted.  (Hebrews 2:18)
   
What a comforting thought! What relief it brings!

Because He suffered with temptation, we can count on Him to come to our aid - we, His children, cry
to Him and He helps us!

A child cannot help himself and so cries for assistance - for help in time of trouble.

That's what God wants us to do - cry out to Him!
Like David did throughout the Psalms!

My NIV translation of Hebrews 2:18 says this:

       Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted,
       He is able to help those who are being tempted.

And The Message paraphrases it this way:

        He would have already experienced it all Himself --
        all the pain, all the testing -- and would be able to
        help where help was needed.

You know, somehow, in all these new ways of expressing God's Word, and trying to help us 21st century Christians understand the ancient thoughts,
I miss the idea of "succour" - God's children - us -
crying out for His help and He comes running.

I love that thought - He is our Father and stands
ready to help us as we cry to Him -



Another thing I miss - do we often remember that Christ also "suffered" in resisting temptation? that
He experienced, not just the temptation, but also
the "suffering" and "pain" in dealing with it.



Don't we sometimes  foolishly reckon (another old word) that it was easy for Him? At least, a lot easier than it is for us?

I think it was harder, because He yearned to please His Father more ..... and the stakes were so much higher.....

Building Character

Watch your thoughts -- they become your words.

Watch your words--they become your actions.

Watch your actions--they become your habits.

Watch your habits--they become your character.

Watch your character--it becomes who you really are.

Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray.
He who does what is right is righteous, just as He is righteous.

1 John 3:7

...we obey His commands and do what pleases Him. And this is His command: to believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and to love one another as He commanded. 1 John 3:22-23

The Kind of Prayer God Answers

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their
voices together in prayer to God.

"Sovereign Lord," they said, "you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the  earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against His anointed One.

"Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:23-30

It seems to us that sometimes God answers prayer and sometimes He doesn't. In this prayer it is clearly demonstrated that He did answer.


What is the kind of prayer God answers?

1. A prayer that is actually prayed

Verse 24: "When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God."
Pay attention to what is happening. Bro Mike reminded us of our participation in the National Day of Prayer last May. 

We laid aside our petitions, our promotions, our own comments and agendas and predetermined answers to important questions.... and our thoughts about what kind of government we need or want.

We just prayed. Together.

2. A Prayer that recognizes God for who He is.

Verse 24: Sovereign Lord, you made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them....

They were acknowledging God's authority over everything.

3. A Prayer that is guided by God's Word

v. 25 You spoke by the Holy Spirit....

I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:11

God's word sparks our prayer. It prompts, informs and inspires us.

4. A Prayer that Recognizes God's sovereignty.

Verses 27-28 ....They [Herod and Pontius Pilate] did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen.

God was in control -- in every detail.

5. A Prayer that seeks God's help to do God's Work.

Bro Mike talked about taking a 30-day inventory of our prayer life and see how much of our prayers center on us and our own needs and requests. Things to make our lives easier.

Verse 29: Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

Remember what we signed up for. We are on assignment. We need to be in the right place at the right time to accomplish our assignments .

Bro Mike talked about going to Israel and seeing all the young men and women in uniform and carrying guns. They were on assignment. Bro Mike and his group were tourists - not in uniform and not carrying weapons.

Conclusion: Bro Mike referred again to how much our our prayers gravitate to our own stuff.

God is really interested in our prayer life. He is the Creator, the one at the beginning and the one at the end. We are in the middle -- along for the ride, at His invitation. We need to "buckle up."

This was a really great message for all of us. Bro Mike said he was himself challenged during his preparation to expand his prayer life to emphasize God's will and His word - not centering on His blessings to benefit himself.

I think just about all of us there were also challenged in the same way.